Contested Waters Carry Huge Volume of World Trade

The Philippines filed an arbitration case Sunday with the United Nations over China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, raising the ante in a long-running dispute over who owns what in the strategic, energy-rich waters.

Manila has been preparing for months to file its challenge to China's claim to control everything within a broad expanse of the sea delineated by its so-called "nine-dash line." The Philippines' submission is nearly 4,000 pages long, includes more than 40 maps and is aimed at...